Abstract

The mind-body dichotomy is at least as old as the nomos-physis controversy in ancient Greece. Since then, thinkers have queried on the proper relation between the physical and mental or spiritual realms, in order to attain human excellence.

We hereby enjoin this quest by introducing the new Sociophysics paradigm to update this age-old quandary into the Twenty-first Century. The theory of Sociophysics attempts to apply the latest insights of the Natural into the Social Sciences.

In this particular study, we concentrate on psychology as the paradigmatic area where nature and culture, as well as mind and body intersect and interact. By a dialectic process juxtaposing the apparent contradiction of mind and body, psychophysics thus synthesizes them into a coherent Sociophysics system.

The thesis developed here is that classical ideas and ideals incorporate the appropriate wisdom of the ages, combined with the accumulated knowledge of the present, to analyze and clarify this historical quandary. On that basis, the particular application of this general thesis focuses on the importance of excellence and perfection in the ideal community where the citizen can participate in politics to the fullest.

The methodology will be theoretical, utilizing a systematic analysis of a three-dimensional conceptual framework, involving physiology, sociology and psychology. Each chapter will investigate the interfaces among these three aspects, thus placing the psycho-physical content in its socio-cultural context. Finally, the dialectic conclusion will draw the appropriate synoptic perspective.